Movies:
Note to Students and Parents:
The following descriptions of the films are from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com). Details and a parent’s guide to a film’s possibly objectionable material can be found at this site. Some of the movies are rated “R”, so NO CREDIT WILL BE GRANTED FOR R-RATED MOVIES (OR OTHER TYPES OF SOURCES) WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM A PARENT OR GUARDIAN E-mailed to the teacher.
Blood Diamond – R (3)
A story following Archer, a man tortured by his roots. With a strong survival instinct, he has made himself a key player in the business of conflict diamonds. Political unrest is rampant in Sierra Leone as people fight tooth for tooth. Upon meeting Solomon, and the beautiful Maddy, Archer's life changes forever as he is given a chance to make peace with the war around him.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "Why is this happening? Who or what is to blame?"
Invictus – PG13 (3)
The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "Why did Mandela's plan work so effectively?"
The Good Lie – PG13 (2)
A group of Sudanese refugees given the chance to resettle in America arrive in Kansas City, Missouri, where their encounter with an employment agency counselor forever changes all of their lives. A great look at African culture and values and how they conflict with America's, and a glimpse into the tragedy in Sudan.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "What aspects of African culture did you find admirable?"
The Air Up There – PG (2)
Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball coach who wants a big promotion. To get it, he needs to make a dramatic find. He ends up deep in Africa, hoping to recruit Saleh, a huge basketball prodigy Jimmy glimpsed in a home movie. But Saleh is the chief's son and has responsibilities at home, since the tribe's land is threatened by a mining company with its own hotshot basketball team.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "Did this movie change your opinion on the 'Africa should modernize' vs. 'Africa should stay traditional' debate?"
Cry Freedom—PG (3)
Donald Woods is chief editor at the liberal newspaper Daily Dispatch in South Africa. He has written several editorials critical of the views of Steve Biko. But after having met him for the first time, he changes his views. They meet several times, and this means that Woods and his family get attention from the security police. When Steve Biko dies in police custody, he writes a book about Biko. The only way to get it published is for Woods himself to illegally escape the country.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "How did white South Africans defend the existence of Apartheid?"
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom—PG-13 (3)
A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "What did you learn about Mandela and the fight against Apartheid that added to your knowledge gained in class?"
Hotel Rwanda – PG13 (2)
20 years ago some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind took place in the country of Rwanda--and in an era of high-speed communication and round the clock news, the events went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world. In only three months, one million people were brutally murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, inspired by his love for his family, an ordinary man summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees, by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "Do you think you would have made the same choices as the hotel owner? Why or why not?"
The Gods Must Be Crazy - PG (2)
A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "Why does he throw it back?"
Videos:
(Available through the school account at Discovery Education...check the library page for login info)
CBS News The 20th Century: South Africa: Free at Last (1)
Keepers of Memory: Survivors’ Accounts of the Rwandan Genocide (1)
Frontline: On Our Watch: The Darfur Genocide (1) Click here to View
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "What did you learn that was not covered in class?"
Travel Videos:
(Available through the school account at Discovery Education...check the library page for login info)
Globetrekker:
Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana (1)
The Transatlantic Slave Trade (1)
Ghana and the Ivory Coast (1)
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "Would you want to spend a year there? Why or why not?"
Books: (in most cases, available to be borrowed from teacher)
King Leopold’s Ghost (Chap. 8, 10) (4)
These chapters depict the barbarity of the Belgians during their colonization of the Congo.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "Was such brutality necessary?"
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (10)
An all-too-real story of a boy forced to become one of Sierra Leone’s infamous child soldiers during its Civil War in the 1990s.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "What can the world do to prevent this or help the victims?"
Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak (9)
Interviews with Hutus who admit participating in the 1994 genocide of the Tutsis. (Warning: graphic depictions of violence)
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "Are their answers OK? Were they able to justify what they did to the point where they can or should be forgiven for their actions?"
Facing the Lion (6)
The story of a teacher in the Washington area who grew up with the Masai tribe in Kenya.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "You are neither a Masai warrior nor likely to ever face a lion…so what can you apply from the author’s advice and experiences to your own life?"
Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria (10)
The British-raised daughter of a famous murdered Nigerian environmental activist travels through her native country trying to cope with her love/hate relationship with it. (Note: occasional bad language)
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "Is Nigeria rising or falling?"
Chap. 33 "Somewhere over the Rainbow" from The Fate of Africa. (3)
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: How did South Africa fare in its first decade since the end of Apartheid?
Chap. 4-5 of The Lunatic Express.(2)
The perils of travel in Africa on overcrowded minibuses, filthy dilapidated trains, and overcrowded boats.
Need a prompt for reflection? Try: "Why is it like this?"
Travel Stories: (If not available as a PDF file, copies available upon request from the teacher)
The Last Safari, Mark Ross. (2) 2000
A harrowing tale of being taken prisoner by a militia in Uganda
Invading Drummond's Farm, Paul Theroux. (2) 2003 DOWNLOAD
From the book (Dark Star Safari) that brought us to the Soche Hill School, the author meets a white farmer in Zimbabwe who is having his farm "invaded" by supporters of Robert Mugabe.
Places of Darkness, Kira Salak (2) 2003
Adventures with efforts to save Rwandan gorillas during a time of war
Shattered Sudan, Paul Salopek (1) 2003
A report on those involved with the oil trade during Sudan’s civil war and genocide
The River is a Road, Bryan Mealer (3) DOWNLOAD
A harrowing river barge journey down the Congo River. A 21st-Century "Heart of Darkness"
Hotels Rwanda, J. Kirk 2009 (2) DOWNLOAD
Trying ecotourism in a country recovering from war and slaughter
Lost in the Sahel (1) Paul Salopek
Travels along the edges of the Sahel Desert and the heart of the African Muslim world.
The Hadza (1) Michael Finkel 2010 DOWNLOAD
Following one of the last societies on Earth (mostly) untouched by the modern world.
Activities:
Visit the National Museum of African Art (4)
Restaurant Visits:
Rainbow Restaurant Gaithersburg (Ghanain: West African) (2)
Any of DC’s Ethiopian Restaurants (2)
Swahili Village Beltsville (Kenyan: East African) (3)
Other:
Got an idea for a source or an activity that should be on the list? Do not be afraid to run your idea past Mr. Lewin, who is always on the lookout for more and better materials.